Haley Batten (Whole Athlete) at the start went on to catch the 17-18 field

(Dave McElwaine)

Kayless Blevins (Trek) at one of the drops

(Dave McElwaine)

Emily Shields (BMC) about to take a digger

(Dave McElwaine)

Emily Shields (BMC) survived this crash without injuring herself

(Dave McElwaine)

Ellen Noble (Trek) descending the ski hill

(Dave McElwaine)

A riders criss-crosses the ski hill

(Dave McElwaine)

Haley Batten (Whole Athlete) may have had the most impressive win of the day

(Dave McElwaine)

Haley Batten (Whole Athlete) was pleased with her national championship

(Dave McElwaine)

Kate Courtney (Specialized) at the finish

(Dave McElwaine)

Shayna Powless (BMC)

(Dave McElwaine)

Ellen Noble (Trek) and her Mom

(Dave McElwaine)

Kate Courtney, Kaylee Blevins, and Shayna Powless at the finish

(Dave McElwaine)

Kate Courtney (Specialized) with the race lead after one lap

(Dave McElwaine)

Shayna Powless (BMC) racing in second place

(Dave McElwaine)

Kaylee Blevins (Trek) riding in fourth position after one lap

(Dave McElwaine)

Ellen Noble (Trek) on a fast descent

(Dave McElwaine)

X-Terra althete Hanna Finchamp (Luna)

(Dave McElwaine)

Ksenia Lepikhina on her way to winning the 17-18 race

(Dave McElwaine)

Juniors on a steep descent

(Dave McElwaine)

Kate Courtney (Specialized) handling a drop cleanly

(Dave McElwaine)

Kate Courtney (Specialized) descending the Bear Creek ski hill

(Dave McElwaine)

Shayna Powless (BMC) trying to keep Courtney in sight

(Dave McElwaine)

Libby White (UVM) putting in a solid ride

(Dave McElwaine)

Haley Batten (Whole Athlete) racing to victory in the 15-16 race

(Dave McElwaine)

Kelsey Urban (Whole Athlete) racing to second place in the 15-16 race

(Dave McElwaine)

Cassie Ross having descending through the trees

(Dave McElwaine)

Ksenia Chavez on steep singletrack

(Dave McElwaine)

Emily Shields (BMC) riding well after a very bad crash

(Dave McElwaine)

Shayna Powless and Kate Courtney embrace at the finish

(Dave McElwaine)

Kate Courtney (Specialized) raced to a decisive win in the under 23 women's cross country race, which opened up the day's action at the US Cross Country Mountain Bike National Championships at Bear Creek Resort in Macungie, Pennsylvania. Courtney finished ahead of Shayna Powless and Kaylee Blevins (Bear Development Team).

“There was a little bit of rain earlier in the week, so I think made it a little more fun and difficult for everyone,” Courtney said. “It was definitely a challenging course and worthy (to be) the National Championships course.

“I think it’s a really great accomplishment for me and I’m really excited about it.”

Amongst the U23 action that highlighted the early hours of the day's racing was a compelling series of juniors races, beginning with the category 1 women’s 17-18 contest. Ksenia Lepikhina just edged silver medalist Cassie Ross (Kryki Sports) in 1:17:22, besting Ross’ 1:17:25 effort by three seconds. Shea Chavez took bronze in 1:19:21.

The category 1 women’s 15-16 field was decided by Haley Batten’s (/Whole Athlete-Specialized) 1:10:08 clip, which was contested by teammate Kelsey Urban (Whole Athlete-Specialized), who finished in 1:11:11. Sienna Leger Redel (Summit Utah Devo) wrapped up third in 1:16:42.